Andy (and Mike V., too)
I will echo what Mike has said, with some additional comments.
I think the two lenses you have will be fine. I found that the
300 was a bit small for bikes in some circumstances, so I plan
on shooting with Bill Barber's 350 Tamron and my 200 as a
400 with the 2x teleconvertor, as well as the 300 with a 2X
teleconvertor on a monopod more often. You will have to play
around and find out what works depending on how close you can
get at Silverstone. I have found I can shoot pretty well
everything handheld up to about 400mm. I got some shots that
were clear at 600mm shooting handheld, but my percentage was
way lower than at 200 or 300. If you look at Mike's and my
work, you will notice we really like to pan...this gives a better
impression of speed rather than those big, big head-on
telephoto shots that completely freeze the action (though
those are nice,too). If you don't have trackside photo access
(and I seriously doubt you will), these shots will be near
impossible to get anyway. I like to pick corners where the
bikes are going slower as they are way more cranked over and
this makes for a more dramatic shot. The best bets from
trackside access for "banked over" shots are from the outside
of the rider, and he practically will disappear off the side of
the bike when he hangs off to the inside (go back and look at my
photo of Tony "the Tiger" Meiring as an example of this). This
will give a greater impression of lean angle than if you shot
the rider directly from the inside, or the side he is hanging off
on. Also try shooting from directly behind (see my shots of the
start of race 1, and of E-Boz at Turn two). For a frontal shot
to show lean angle and rider skill, I like a 3/4 frontal view, ie.,
just to the front of, and inside of, the rider. Hairpins are a
good place to get head on shots of riders banked way over.
More comments follow below amending Mike's sage advice:
>Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 17:07:41 -0700
>From: Motor Sport Visions Photography
<msvphoto@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: Re: [OM] World Superbikes Round Silverstone
>Andy, I defer to Stephen's bike shooting wisdom since I have
>never shot a motorcycle race in my life (though that may well
>change on >the World Superbikes weekend at Laguna Seca this
>year).
>Both lenses you mentioned (the 200 and 300) would be good
>choices. I
>don't know how close you can get to the track at Silverstone,
>but
>imagine not very since it is a F1 venue. Bring the extender ;-)
>Stephen should be able to share what his shutter speeds were
>for his
>bike shots, but I'm guessing around 1/125 for panned shots
>and 1/500 or so for the others. (How close am I stephen?)
Mike, you are dead on here....I was shooting between 1/125 and
1/250 for the panned shots (depending on the f/stop and what
the OM-2S was selecting for shutter speed). This gets the
spokes of the wheels blurred out to give a nice impression of
speed. For head-on big telephoto stuff, I would try to shoot at
1/500th. I'm sure Mike uses pretty much the same numbers.
>I shoot Provia F at ISO 100 pretty much exclusively. If it
>looks like you're going to have poor light you may want to
>either push what you brought, or bring some 400 film.
Me, too, Fuji Provia 100F RDPIII. I might try some 400 at
some point to see if I can use smaller apertures to get
greater depth of field. Or I might push 100 to 200....Provia has
exemplary grain structure, and I hear it pushes very well.
>Unless you have a really big/heavy lens you really don't need a
>monopod or tripod. I only use one with the 350/2.8, and that
>is mostly due to the weight, not so much the focal length.
Andy, I haven't shot with a monopod yet, so I can't help you
out there..I plan to soon, but I'm sure I will have learning
curve, as well.
>Beyond that? Smooth pans, follow through after your release
point.
Pre-focus on your release point based on watching a few of the
>riders
>pass through the spot so you know their lines. Practice. Maybe
>go to a road and practice panning on cars passing by in advance
Yep, yep, yep. I will follow riders a lot, panning them in the
camara shot before taking a picture to make sure they are in
focus at the right place and to get a sense of their lines. I
will also pick a point on the track with some reference marks
that I want to capture the rider at, set the focus for there,
and then try to get them as they pass through that point. Mike
talks a lot about predictive shutter release, and he is right on
about that....you have to learn to be a good sniper! If you have
never done this before, I would practice, practice,
practice....maybe go out to some club races beforehand and
shoot there. or some car club races. If you have a zoom like a
75-150 or 65-200, bring that too if you can get reasonably
close...I have taken all of my F1 shots with my 75-150 zoom,
and I got some very nice stuff with it (see here:
http://www.pbase.com/image/1500368). Also, get some stuff
that is a not necessarily "bike-full-frame"....shoot some photos
at a smaller focal lengths to get a sense of the track, the
ambience, or a good dice!
If I have any more thoughts, I will post them for you....
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